WWC: Simone, Rucka & Lopresti on Wonder Woman

So was the introduction made by Wonder Woman
writer Gail Simone, as she was the last panelist to make it into the
Jim Mooney Room Saturday afternoon at Wizard World Chicago. Accompanied
by former lead writer Greg Rucka and current artist Aaron Lopresti, a
spirited and relatively brief panel was held discussing the pros and
cons of creating Wonder Woman stories.

When asked about the motivating factors of handling the Amazing Amazon,
Rucka stated that "it's not corny to want to honor the character."
Simone added that while it's a challenge to embrace a character with
more than sixty years of history, it was not something she could shy
away from. Lopresti was quick to add that while to "do her right"
visually is a big objective is his work, another goal has been to avoid
the cheesecake that Rucka mentioned held the character back a decade
ago. When the artistic side of the character came up, easily half the
room was stunned with Gail Simone's news that Michael Turner had passed
away the night before. Simone even mentioned how humbling it was early
on in her day that she saw a convention attendee wearing w Wonder Woman
t-shirt illustrated by Turner.

For a character he no longer writes, Rucka was particularly impassioned
on his take on Wonder Woman and the stories he created for her. It was
abundantly clear that he was not ready to leave the title when he did
and that it was editorial mandate. He expressed regret that Diana's
infamous execution of Maxwell Lord was not completely told in terms of
the character's redemption, or arguably lack thereof, and was quick to
note that Simone was never expected to follow up on what he originally
orchestrated. As for what separates Diana from Superman and Batman,
Simone suggested that of the three, she is the best war tactician,
having been raised as royalty in a warrior culture. Of any DC Universe
hero, Wonder Woman is the best at seeing out a conflict from beginning
to end with the best intentions in mind.

Simone mentioned, with agreement from the rest of the panel, that she
has been able to get consistent feedback from previous creators who
handled Wonder Woman before, including George Perez, Allan Heinberg and
Phil Jimenez (who happens to be working on a Wonder Woman encyclopedia
as we speak). With other characters, that doesn't always seem to be the
case. In terms of her approach to writing the current book, Simone said
she does not do it through a feminine filter in that she acknowledges
her unique position as one of the first females to write Wonder Woman,
but she would handle Superman or anyone else similarly.

As for what to look for in the future, Simone handled most of the
hints, including that a new villain is on the horizon named Genocide
(the character's notable lack of a rogue's gallery was brought up by
the entire panel as well as the need to create new adversaries).
Without giving anything away, on the horizon there will be a war
between two gods, a male
Wonder Woman introduced -- however that works -- an inclusion of Donna
Troy into the mix, and a major epic that will bring many of the current
and previous plotlines together.